HAPPY SPRING 2012!

The wind chimes are chiming, the birds are singing and the sun is shining!!! Life is sweet!

We have a camera that is full of photos just waiting to be posted...however, we must add for those that may not be aware, a new career has begun in our household and is taking a great deal of time away from blogging, as well as making time disappear when added to school, piano, church, etc! We wouldn't trade all of this for anything, but it would be nice to be able to post new pictures and have enough time to fill you in on some of the other things that have been happening lately!

Though the photos must wait, we would like to mention how thankful we are that God has led a new Pastor to Southside, Ray and Lenae McCrary, will join us on April 15th and there is tons of excitement in the air...we're absolutely counting the days until they arrive!

The three of us are also, more than a little excited, and thankful that SPRING HAS OFFICIALLY SPRUNG! We would ask that you please keep our new career endeavors, with "Penn Place Designs", in your prayers...that God would continue to provide clients and jobs as He sees fit! He has kept us busy thus far and we are thrilled to see where He will take us from here! (You can find PPD on Facebook and we hope to have our official website up and running soon, as well!)

Happy Spring from our front porch to yours!!!!!

Saturday:The First Day of Spring (I'll take a Chocolate Malt, please?)

(Aly, the Steak-N-Shake Chef~Mar. 2010)

"Hark, I hear a robin calling!
List, the wind is from the south!
And the orchard-bloom is falling
Sweet as kisses on the mouth.
In the dreamy vale of beeches
Fair and faint is woven mist,
And the river's orient reaches
Are the palest amethyst.
Every limpid brook is singing
Of the lure of April days;
Every piney glen is ringing
With the maddest roundelays.
Come and let us seek together
Springtime lore of daffodils,
Giving to the golden weather
Greeting on the sun-warm hills."
~ Lucy Maud Montgomery, Spring Song

We are thrilled that the first day of Spring is only hours away, now! We love this time of year... everything coming to "life", once again! Nice weather means many fun things to do outdoors and Aly is certainly having trouble trying to contain her excitement! City Parks to visit, all sorts of animals to see at the Indianapolis Zoo, awesome art exhibits for 'hands on fun' are waiting at the Children's Museum and SO much more! This is sure to be a fantastic Spring/Summer!

Trust all of our friends and family, in Blogger-Land, have enjoyed a very GrEeN and hApPy sT. pAtRiCk'S dAy today! A green world is so much more beautiful than a dark, dried up one! Our prayer is, that YOU will each have an even better "First Day of Spring" this year, than you ever have before. (Saturday's only 2+ days away, you know!)

Síochán leat! (Peace be with YOU!)

A Combination of Cabin Fever & Spring Fever

"It may still be winter for the next 9 days or so, but it is not to early to be rejuvenated by the many sentiments of Spring. Spring is a time of growth, renewal, and new life being born. If tomorrow is another beautiful day like the past few days have been, be sure to 'stick your head out the window, first thing in the morning and let Spring kiss you..... bAnG right in the face'." [adapted from L. Hughes]
The changes in the weather of late, are sufficient enough to 'recreate' the world as we see it and to boost OR deflate our moods immediately. So, as Spring blows in, we need to keep our moods 'in check', whether there be sunshine OR rain and try a little understanding! I strive not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, or even hate them..... but, trying instead to understand them. However, UNDERSTANDING does not necessarily mean AGREEMENT! [anonymous] “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything splendid, even wonderful or exciting things happen..... just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls off a string. Simple meaning, things like putting away our worries and strife to focus on nothing, but the 'pearls' in our lives. This one act will boost our moods, no matter what is going on around us. God expects us to enjoy the GOOD times He sends our way..... like SPRINGTIME!” [unknown] Le-say le bon-ton rou-la!!!!!

Aly enjoyed the Pie/Cake Auction(2/28/10)...especially the meringue as you can see!
To ward off severe cases of Cabin-Fever, last Friday we enjoyed delicious Romano's Macaroni Grill Lasagna, at Mamaw S's with the Indy crew. Saturday, Greg, Aly and I had a terrific Spring-y day hitting the town..... Bouncer Town, Old Time Pottery, Pizza Hut and Wal Mart. Sunday, yet another good day, ending with a KMBC Choir Concert and meal following. So far, this week we've been going non-stop and are not likely to slow down much before Saturday! "It's Spring Fever. That's what the name of it is. When you've got it, you want..... oh, you don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! [Mark Twain]
It's almost Spring..... only a few days to go, do you know where your bloomers are? =)

Celebrate Spring with Us!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/BouncerTownUSAMoreApril2009?feat=directlink

As it is quite obvious from the above Photo Album... we are enjoying our Spring and wanted to share a bit of it with you! On just about any given day, especially the sunny ones, we have ventured out to have some fun, even a rainy day or two hasn't stopped us! City life is perfect for finding things to do and one of our newest and 'bestest' finds so far, has been "BouncerTown, USA", in Greenwood!!! Of course, you can't go wrong with any one of the many City Parks, either! Aly is all-girl, but that doesn't stop her from having a ball outdoors and we're all three looking forward to a great rest-of-the-Spring and the up-and-coming-Summer together!
We had our Family pictures taken last week for the Church Directory and are anxious to see the final outcome in a few weeks... even though Aly was 'down' with a cold and a bit of an eye infection that day, she went through the photo shoot like a real trooper and we were so very proud of her! We'll be sure to post the pictures for you to see soon.

I want to take time to add a special thank you at this time. This past Saturday, after a very stressful week, Greg gave me an offer I couldn't resist... a SHELLY-NIGHT-OUT! Before Greg and I married, this was something of a 'norm' for me and even after we married, (before we had Aly) I would 'take' one of these every month or two. However, since having Aly I hadn't done so. I have 'splurged' several times over the past year and spent little bits of time with a friend/friends, my mom, Greg, etc., but not anything I'd call real 'personal-time'! So, needless to say, I took full advantage on Saturday evening and headed out on the town. LOL I made my way to Family Christian Bookstore, Dealz, Kohl's, WalMart and stopped off at Panera Bread for a late supper. A few hours to re-vamp, re-new and re-lax were just what I needed!!! To top that little story off, Greg also grilled Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, California-Style Veggies and Sweet Tea for Aly and I last night! WOW!!! A mere thank you isn't much, but I'll say it anyway... THANK YOU BABY, YOU'RE THE BEST AND I LOVE YOU! You are the best hubby and Daddy...

Did We Skip Over Summer & Fall Right Back Into Winter???

With the chill in the air again, it would seem that we have skipped right over Summer and Fall! Where has Spring gone??? Guess she must just be taking a 'nap'... maybe she wasn't ready to "wake up", yet? No matter, if Spring is awake or not Easter Sunday is just days away and who isn't thinking about the life, death and the Resurrection of Jesus right now? One thought that has been on my mind lately, comes from a great song and says, "Who am I that a KING would bleed and die for me?" However, I am so grateful HE did! The best part of the Easter story is the fact that HE is coming back for ME!!!

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I'm learning a 'new trick', (new-to-me, anyway) on Photo editing and thought I'd share a couple of pictures with you... CLICK HERE to view: http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/ADateAtTheMall?feat=directlink
Well, we've had a very busy week to say the least. We've spent many hours planning the annual Easter Egg Hunt, which is to take place at Church, this coming weekend. Of course, we've spent quite a bit of time on the road shopping for Easter clothes for our Angel-girl, too! Needless to say, Aly is now prepared for Easter Sunday but, there is still much to buy for the Egg Hunt! As you've seen in the photos, we were able to throw a "Mall Date" into the mix, as well!
We would like to send our sympathies out to a dear friend of ours, Dawn (Zimmerman) Pence. She and two of her precious boys suffered a great loss, when her husband, Michael and their youngest son (9 year old) Devin, were killed in a tragic car accident this past Sunday afternoon. Mike had worked the 3rd shift on Saturday night and being very fatigued after the morning services and Sunday dinner, he fell asleep at the wheel. DAWN!!! You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time!!! We are so sorry for your loss! Remember the song lyrics, "It won't rain always... God's promises are true... the sun's gonna shine in His own good time... He will see you through." We love ya'll!
Now, with one last and final wish for a Happy Easter 2009 to ALL of our Blogger-Palz, we bid you farewell until next week!

Spring is A Time for Field Trips, Playing Dress-Up and More!

With the bright sunshine, warmer weather and the springtime breezes, comes a chance for field trips, playing dress-up and tons of other fun stuff! We've enjoyed just a few of these wonderful things and wanted to share them with you!!! The captions will tell the story... Simply CLICK HERE! http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/AirportFieldTripDressUpPlaydayAndMore?feat=directlink

One very IMPORTANT answer to prayer that we'd like to share with you, is that God has provided Greg with a temporary job at IWU!!! Boy, God IS good! Now, we're praying that having 'our foot in the door' will possibly open the opportunity for a more permanent position in the near future?!?
There isn't much more to tell, that the above Photo Album hasn't provided for you already... So, we'll just sign off this week, with a wish to YOU... which would be, that you'll take a moment to praise God, each time you see a cloud floating above, a bird singing in a tree, a dogwood in bloom or a rainbow with all it's colors shining through the sun-lit skies! After all, He is the reason we can all enjoy this beautiful thing called SPRING!!!

March Sun-shine and School-time

What a busy week this has been! 99.9% of the work at Church has been completed, with the exception of my office and it's only about 19.9% complete! lol I've just learned today, that my Office will be moving, for a third time. I'll begin work (again) on this NEW move before Sunday, but I'm taking a day or two this week, for a little much needed family time.
Since Greg has been laid off, Aly and I have not kept up with her 'schooling', because having fun with Daddy has taken front and center. We're not complaining ONE bit, either!!! I just decided that this morning was the day to bring School back into our daily schedule. We use Flashcards, DVD's, and Books to learn about letters, animals, shapes, etc. We practice holding pencils, pens and crayons, while having lots of fun and making quite a mess in the process, at times! Aly loves 'School', even though her attention span isn't quite up-to-par just yet... HOWEVER, it has moved from about -5 minutes to about 25+ minutes now! What a smart little doll-baby we have on our hands!!! Here is a handful of snapshots we captured this morning...

Click Here: http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/MarchSchoolDay?feat=directlink
We had a pleasant surprise this past Sunday, Aunt Gayle and Don from Ohio, came to visit us and we had a ball together! Our only complaint was that the few hours with them went entirely TOO fast!!! We're hoping they'll make this little road trip again REAL soon! Maybe we'll have more time together next time!
WOW! Aly and I were treated to a YUMMY Brunch this morning... thanks, Daddy! We loved the Scrambled Eggs, Saugage, Ham, Buckwheat Pancakes, etc., it was all just PERFECT!
Greg, Aly and I must have spread ourselves a bit thin last week, with all the paint, dust, etc. I'd say all three of us have had our allergies pretty messed up and at this point, we're all feeling it with runny noses and sore throats! I must add the fact that this beautiful March sunshine is doing it's job in helping us (almost) forget these nasty allergies and colds, though!
Thank the dear Lord for the awesome creation of SPRING!!! We trust all of our Blogging "Palz" are doing well and enjoying life, also! Take care, all...

Only 31 Days Before the First Day of Spring 09!

Finally, we're only about a month away from the best Season of the year... SPRING! It's been a long time a coming, but we're ready for it, that's for sure! We've had a very busy week since last Tuesday, with the Church Children's Valentine Party, a Family Valentine Party, our Valentine Dinner, etc. (Including a little Valentine shopping throughout the week, of course!) I've always loved Valentine's Day and this year it seemed we celebrated all week long, which made it even more special!
For a brief overview of our week,
CLICK HERE:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/ValentineSDayWeekend2009?feat=directlink
We are certainly looking forward to Spring this year, I believe Aly will enjoy being outdoors again, even more than she did last year! It's so much fun to watch the world "wake up" from her looonnnngggg Winter's nap and realize the beauty that God Himself created for just us, His children!
Please help us pray for the family of a dear girlfriend of mine, who just passed away, after returning to the States as a Missionary to China. She had backslidden in recent years and turned from God, she was entirely too young to die and her death seems very unnecessary. I HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS! TWO DAYS AFTER POSTING THIS PRAYER REQUEST, I WAS INFORMED THAT SHE DID INDEED FIND PEACE WITH GOD BEFORE HER UNTIMELY DEATH! TO GOD BE ALL THE PRAISE! However, let us continue to pray for her family during these trying times. She left a husband and son behind and many other family members, as well. Thank you for your prayers, care and concern for 'another' of God's family.
Until next time...

Winter in Indiana...

Well, there's really not much to say that hasn't already said about my feelings of WINTER IN INDIANA... as you are all aware, it is NOT my favorite season or place to be during this particular season! (It must be the Louisiana coming out in me!) However, this white stuff they call snow is quite pretty to look at, that is when it first begins to fall and turn our world into a TRUE Winter Wonderland.
I need not tell you, that the 'new' and 'fresh' has worn off as far as I'm concerned and I'm ready for a GREEN WORLD, now! I am already planning things to do with Aly when Spring arrives and trying to remember what it's like to not have to lug coats and blankets around wherever we go! What's not to love about Spring?!?!?
Well, we'll blog again next week and hopefully will have more pictures to add then, as well! "Happy Groundhog Day", ya'll...

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/SnowStormOf2009?feat=directlink

Happy March, Ya'll!

It's hard to believe that March has arrived!!! We're loving this spring-like weather! 65*+ outside this morning (and still rising) with clear sunny skies! Simply beautiful!!!

What a SHOCK when you realize that our little Alyson is already 4 months old!!! (BTW - THIS PIC IS NOT OF OUR ALY - I JUST COULDN'T RESIST POSTING IT! TOO CUTE THOUGH, DON'T YA THINK?)

Well, we're spending the weekend in Mexico (the town, not the country, that is! LOL) with Greg's family and having a BALL!
Alyson just can't get over being at Mawmaw and Pawpaw P's house with her big 'Bub' and 'Sis'!







(Whitley, Fall 2007) This is all so new to her and really quite fun, too. No doubt she'll really "get into" these trips in a few months when she can 'toddle' around and 'shadow' both Wes and Whit... after all, what else are big brother's and sister's for???

(Wesley, Fall 207) Guess that'll be it for 'blogging' at the moment, we'll do our best to try and get a couple more in by the end of the month!

(Aly, Winter 2008) Take care, have a Happy March and enjoy this 'springy' weather! (Isn't it just the best Season ever!) Spring fever has HIT, that's for sure!!!